Only One
by Lost Inside Myself
Summary: A oneshot with an OcxOc pairing-ish. The final moments of Matsuri, Arya before she is struck down. This oneshot, being so long, is divided into parts.


Only One

It had been two years since she'd last seen anything of her former partner. The accident was a horrible thing to think about. He was presumed dead by everyone. Arya remembered the day clearly despite the passing seasons that were supposedly supposed to blur her memory. Yet every event and scream could ring very clear in her mind. Most of the screaming had been done by her as she tried to get to her best friend -whom she had promised to come back for while he was in his injured state- while Yin dragged her away. Arya had been a protesting fit the whole way, saying she had promised and Yin knew what it was like to break a promise. This had hurt Yin and Arya was well aware of that because, yes, Yin knew what it was like. She had broken promises that she could never go back and repair. Arya had not cared that she had done this as she felt it be the only way to try and convince the Izumi to release her. But it had ended with dissatisfying results for her and the years had slugged by since then. She had moped and moped while Yin would tell her to get over it and move on just like she had. But Arya was not like Yin in the least bit, and she knew if Yin lost a certain someone she wouldn't be too grand to be around either. She almost had lost that certain someone before, but luckily had stopped him in time and knocked –literally – sense into him. He had a bruise on his face for a few days because of it. But Yin felt he deserved it for being so stupid and almost dying on her. Arya was quite happy he was alive, too, being somewhat a friend to her.

On this day it was unnaturally quiet, as Yin's loved one was gone so there was no talking or bickering going on between the two. Yin was quiet and lounging around in her usual bored façade on the bed. Her eyes were dull and filled with her longing of his return, she was already missing him. To her he was quite the addiction and she couldn't get enough to satisfy herself. Maybe that was why Yin hung around so often. Arya knew a lot about Yin and she knew the woman wasn't one to stay still in one place. Joining them had been a temporary thing to her yet she had been here longer then Arya. Arya had only been Yin's apprentice for about four years now. She was not a true Akatsuki member like Yin Izumi was – she was being taught by Yin and while being taught acting as a spy for them. Her partner had been the same way. Both had been alone though Yin had found her partner first and then her. Arya felt she was proving a failure to her mentor, being so under skilled in many aspects. For one she had a low chakra capacity and could barely use it. There was something hindering her chakra allowing her about one jutsu and then the bloodline she possessed. She had a shaky walking on water skills and zero in keeping herself in a tree. Her main focus had to be taijutsu and luckily she was proving some worth in that department. Though she utterly failed in genjutsu, neither able to learn it nor escape from it. Once Arya had fallen into an illusion she could only pray that someone save her in time. These fighting faults led to Yin's frustration during training sessions and Arya felt guilty for it. Her partner had always been so much better then she…Why did it have to be he who had disappeared or died that day? Why had it not been her?

Sighing gently and pulling herself away from the dreaded memory that liked to hang over her, Arya turned onto her belly on her bed and faced her mentor. A small smile of pity and reassurance crossed her lips, one that she would get snapped at over if Yin had cared to take notice to it.

"Are you worried it'll happen away, Yin-sensei?" She asked and a border of doubt edged into her voice, "I'm sure he'll go after him again. Not after the punch you gave him and the screaming. You mean a lot to him, after all. Why would he make you unhappy?"

A lulled gaze turned on her and remained blandly for minutes before the older female turned off of her back and onto her own stomach. Her long black hair fell in her face and she brushed the tendrils away with a delicate swipe of her hand. Her lips were a firm, neutral line yet the look in her eyes did not disappear nor did they harden as if she were about to quip at her. Her lips parted, forming a small circle and she blew air out of her lungs in a soft sigh. She couldn't help but feel like a piece of her was missing right now.

"I guess you may be right."

The negative response made Arya frown as she hated seeing her sensei this way. Yin had gotten very depressed over him having to leave lately. Yet Arya couldn't figure out what her deal was. She hadn't gotten like this before and even after his almost death the paranoia hadn't been there till just a few weeks ago. Arya tapped the side of her cheek as she fingered the bed sheet absent-mindedly. Nothing but her attitude had changed and she was not the only one to notice it. Yin had been scolded for being so 'lazy' by their leader and Yin had merely shrugged at him. This disrespect was nothing new as Yin often liked to joke at him or make snide comments. Of course, she would get in trouble if it were too severe but even this made Yin laugh. This time it had just been her not caring at all –causing her to get into even more trouble and then a lecture. Even with this lecture Yin Izumi continued to mope about and wait for his return. Arya feared something bad might happen if he didn't return soon. It had only been a week…this was nothing compared to other time lengths. It was actually rather short as he was due back with his partner within this coming week. Arya let out a helpless sigh and sat up, tucking her knees underneath her and wrapped her black cat trail about her legs.

"Why are you being like this, Yin-sensei? I've never seen you so down before when he leaves. Even in a time like this…"

Yin gazed at the teenager who was now at the legal age to be considered an adult. She had changed so much over the years in appearance but she was still the same old nosy Arya. Sometimes this came as a comfort to Yin and at other times it was an all-out annoyance. Right now she was not in the mood for Arya' prying but felt there was no way around it. She would continue to pry and pry until she figured out the source of what was wrong. Yin Izumi had no intention of giving this away. She gave her a mere shrug and toyed with a loose piece of string on her bed.

"Times are just tough right now, Arya." She pulled at the string until it broke and lifted it in front of her face. Her coal eyes examining it as she took it between two fingers in each hand, giving a sharp tug and snapping it. "Bonds break as easily as this string does."

Arya frowned at the blunt answer as this brought up a countless number of possibilities. Had the two gotten into some kind of argument or skirmish over something lately? No, Arya would've heard about it and Yin wouldn't be acting like this. Yin was a hot-head and instead would be ranting her tongue off about it while she fumed and gave her excuses as to why she is right and he was wrong. The two rarely argued but that's how it was when they got heated up. Their fights were generally not pretty and Arya was relieved they only happened once in the blue moon. Their fights could get so…violent…and it used to startle Arya when she was a few years younger. Luckily her own partner had been there to help distract her from the yelling. Even though the two had such loud, horrible arguments they were always ok in the end. Except for once, she recalled them not speaking for a short term of time. Yin had been extremely angered and frustrated throughout the term. Arya found it difficult to train with her since Yin's usual mood in that time was very, very bitchy. The slightest thing sent her off into a flaming rant and Arya hated it when she was screamed at. She was very shy when it came to verbal fights or yelling. She always had been. Arya was an introvert in that aspect and wished to stay hidden or out of verbal arguments. This is why she never asked what exactly had made the two so angry at each other. She just knew they eventually said sorry and were ok again. She had actually feared the two would never get back to normal back then. She recalled asking Yin – very timidly- if they'd ever be ok again. Yin had responded with a voice filled with anger and resentment, the harsh voice had caused Arya to shudder. She hadn't listened to what Yin had told her, rather the intensity in her voice when she answered. It was safe to say Yin was downright pissed off. Yet there seemed to be another sound to her voice deep down. As if she was trying to keep it from quivering. This had reassured her slightly that just maybe they'd be ok and nowadays they were. But boy had it been scary back during those dark ages.

Knowing she would hardly get anything out of her teacher, she decided it was time to get out of the room. Leave her mentor be to wallow in her emotions…maybe she'd work out whatever was wrong quicker if she were by herself. There was a small 'yeah right' that rang in the back of her head as she stood and gave a small bow to her sensei and headed out. Since when did Yin Izumi ever make things easy on herself? A flaw to her sensei was that she took things way too hard on herself. This caused her a lot of stress and anxiety which led to her fowl moods. Arya didn't understand why everything had to be her fault when it went wrong, but that's how it went. Usually it would be the opposite and someone would blame another. But Yin allows herself to take the blows and Arya was aware if sometimes made the Izumi near break-point. The Izumi clan, Arya had been told, had never been too stable emotionally or mentally. Though there were only two Izumi now, when there had originally only been four. There had been Yin's parents and her sister in the beginning. Now it was only Yin and her younger sister by about a year, whom had a family now and no longer pursued Yin. Evil was her name, wasn't it? Evil had been angry at Yin and had followed her around, blaming her. But Evil was docile now with a man and a son while – if Arya had her timeline right – being heavily pregnant right now with her second. When Evil had fallen in love after a one night stand and falling pregnant, Yin had shook her head at her. Yin had said it was foolish of her and was going to end in a disaster. This had made Arya slightly uncomfortable because she agreed. Who in the right mind fell in love after a mere one night stand? To make it worse she was impregnated by the man! How could she forgive him when – according to Yin- she hated kids? Evil was a confusing woman to Arya but she had only met Yin's sister once. It had not been a pleasant meeting.

The kunoichi sighed as she lingered in the hallway, running a hand through her short, black hair and avoiding touching her cat ears as she did so. Her partner had the same attributes as she – cat ears and a tail. But both were from a different clan. While Arya was from the Matsuri clan (a medium-sized clan, she guessed) her partner had been from the Neko clan (whom Arya had no knowledge of.) She also had never known her own partner's true name and she wondered if he had ever had one. Arya had given him a nickname the second she had met him and that's what she had always called him. Thinking back again she recalled their casual chats down the hallways and the times he had managed to make her blush. She would chuckle nervously as a tint of pink would rise to her cheeks, her ears would drop shyly, and she would scratch her cheek. She guessed he had usually found that cute or something. Arya had felt rather close to her partner – maybe a bit too close. This thought caused her to tense up and clench her teeth as strings of denial raced through her. She defied the thought she ever had such feelings for him. He was merely her best friend and that would always remain. What made her so reluctant to accept it might be true? Maybe Arya felt resentment toward the fact she might have feelings. She had never been interested in the category of love or crushing. Or it was just sheer reluctance to accept it for the fact he was already gone. There was nothing there for her anymore.

Walking past a mirror and stopped as she caught a quick glance of herself. Turning to face the mirror and inspecting herself she saw nothing had changed. She was still the same plain-looking girl she had always been except with a haircut and dye. Her attire was different, too. But what did that matter? It was her physical body she was looking at. Her hair was always unkempt and her eyes were the same dull brown she had been born with. She used to be flat…but it had been a while since she filled out and she hated the fact she did. Being flat was totally much more worth it, back pains weren't friendly, after all. She often got that joke from Yin, who was a cup smaller than she. Arya thinks Yin resented that…women did often compare, after all. But still, her features were in no way perfect and she swore her face was totally boyish. There was nothing 'pretty' about her at all, just the girl next door. So what would he have ever seen in her, anyways? There were plenty of more pretty of beautiful women out in the world to pay attention to. Despite the fact she gazed at all her flaws, she still couldn't get the denial through her head without doubting it. She sighed and her ears went sideways as she muttered to herself. Why was life so difficult to deal with? It was nothing but a pain in the ass. Life gives you shit…then you die…isn't life just a bitch?

Moving away from the mirror she continued her walk through the hideout of the Akatsuki. It was a wonder how she ever got here. Her family had been quite annoying so she had simply left them behind. They had been a good family to her, but she felt too different from them. They were opposites of what she was. The feeling of not fitting in was enough to turn her off of living there with them. Though they were a good family, she had never had any special connections with her mother or the father that divorced her mother when she was three. She held an absolute hatred for the replacement. The replacement was a strict asshole that had never gotten off her back. Arya felt like it had never been anything but a war with him – which she had won thanks to the ally called her mother. A small smirk of satisfaction spread across her lips. She was glad to have beaten him at his own game. She had lived in an average family that had its weird kinks like most families had and that just hadn't suited her. So she somehow ended up here. It wasn't like she was complaining or anything.

Everything seemed so quiet with the absence of everyone. But a meeting was so rare anymore and hardly anyone ever came here. Arya was here with Yin and just waiting for something to do or for their 'group' to be back together so they can start traveling again. Arya was Yin's 'partner' per say, but the two basically stalked her loved and his partner. Not like he any problem with it. But all the waiting was pretty dull and boring. No wonder Yin was so down right now. Anything to do would be a pleasant surprise for the two as she was ready for a distraction from life. A mission to save her from having to think about anything else. Thinking of anything else during a mission could endanger its success and Arya was not about to give up on any assignment. Her eyes closed and her mind lingered off to the many memories of past missions…all with her own partner by her side. Arya choked and held down a sudden sob threatening to erupt from her. She quickly pushed down the memories and suppressed for the sake of keeping herself together. So many of the Akatsuki were emotionless…and Arya just seemed so emotional. She hated that feeling. Like she would just never be anything like them no matter how hard she tried. It made her feel awkward around them and she didn't want that. She wanted to belong more than anything to them as their spy. The one who gave them information on any village they deploy her out to.

A sudden yell caught her off guard and she – startled – spun around toward the origin of the voice. The voice had called her name and the origin of the voice happened to be Yin. Her dark eyes were studying Arya quizzically as the sight of her startled stance. She sighed and shook her head at the girl, knowing she had taught her not to react in such a fashion. But Arya had never been her best of the two anyways. Arya was quite flawed, making mistakes a lot of the time. But she wasn't completely useless; she was quite skilled in some departments. Nobody was perfect but not everyone was perpetually flawed either. She raised a ripped open envelope for the young teenager to see it rather clearly.

"We've a job to do."

It was not far from where they were and this was actually quite a surprise to Arya. Apparently someone was coming to the hideout and they were to stop whoever it was. She wondered on who could possibly know where the Akatsuki hideout was. Was it someone from Konoha? She remembered hearing something about them finding it before or something like that. It was not something she was involved with. Apparently it had been found because of one of the bijuu, though. A carrier had cared for the one that Deidara and his late partner Sasori and chased after them in an attempt to get him back. Somehow the Akatsuki had gotten what they wanted and the one Konoha ninja got his friend back. To Arya that was a pretty happy ending and it made her smile slightly. If only she could've had such a happy ending.

The two females made it to the area in which the intruder was approaching. Arya couldn't tell where the person was at all but Yin said she sensed a chakra nature. The two stood in an expanse of area with little grass and it looked rather rocky. Arya inspected the area and took note of its features if a fight were to break out. She was rather sure a fight was going to break out, too. It actually all depended on what this mysterious shinobi wanted. She sighed and relaxed for a moment before clenching her fist and gazing at where Yin stared. He must be coming from there…

"Stay back," Yin warned softly as she stepped back and Arya followed suit.

What was she doing? Before Arya could ask she heard a loud eruption and her head snapped toward the wide expanse, her eyes stretched wide. Yin had just blown up the area! What was she thinking? Arya groaned on the inside, she had just memorized it all! Of course, her memory wasn't that great anyways. Her brown eyes gazed at the dust-filled area and she stepped forward slightly, which was a mistake on her part. The ground gave way and she gasped as she tumbled down into the crater Yin had created. Yin did not share the same ability as Deidara. Yin was a shadow manipulator while Deidara had his clay. But Yin could still make the shadows explode or seem to explode, making a devastating result. Arya had learned this many times in their training together. Yin liked to blow things up. People included.

Wincing and recovering from her tumble, Arya stood up slowly and gripped her arm. It had taken quite a blow as well as her side. She felt some cuts already seeping out blood. Great. She must've looked like a damn klutz.

"Good going," Yin was beside her with her arms crossed, cloak swaying with the wind that knocked the dust away. "You can't be this careless in battle, though. Be prepared and look."

Arya nodded and turned her head, cat ears pricking forward and eyes full of wonder. Her ears twitched as she caught sound of footsteps. This made her shift uneasily. She had to prepare to fight! Though before a fight she had this talent of feeling queasy.

"You're as clumsy as ever, Arya-chan."

The voice struck her like a thousand needles of ice piercing her heart. Her eyes stretched wide as the dust finally cleared and she got a pure view of the intruder. Her mouth hung slightly open and her lips quivered with shock. How could it be? The older individual who stood before her…but merely a year older than she. A familiar face and a familiar voice that caused her heart to constrict and two long painful years of thinking washed down the tube in a matter of seconds. What came to be the worst of it was the look in those gold eyes and the headband of a loyal village tied about his forehead.

"You were never all too careful about things like that, were you? Always confident about your footing – if I recall."

Arya's lips moved, trying to form the words she wanted to say. But it seemed like nothing was coming out. There was a refusal. How much she wanted to cry as well as jump with pure joy. What a strange feeling to see him again. Her partner…

"…Squishy."


End file.
